ABB Lummus Global, Kellogg Brown & Rootand Shaw International, all US-based, and Germany's Lindesubmitted technical offers to Tasnee on 6 January, which will be followed by the submission of commercial bids on 27 January. A contract award is expected by the end of the first quarter.

The cracker will produce 1 million tonnes a year (t/y) of ethylene for use at the planned HDPE and LDPE units, and about 200,000 t/y of propylene, which will feed an expansion project at the nearby Saudi Polyolefins Company (SPC), a 75:25 joint venture between Tasnee and Basell. The HDPE and LDPE units will be based on Basell's proprietary Hostalen ACP and Lupotech T technologies.

Sources close to the project say the three local firms pursuing the olefins complex and a government institutional investor are now expected to provide a combined 75 per cent of the required equity. Basell is expected to provide the remaining 25 per cent. With a stake of at least 50 per cent, Tasnee is going to be the largest single investor. Equity will make up 30 per cent of the project's estimated $1,500 million cost.

US-based Fluor Danielis the project management consultant (PMC) on the scheme, which is scheduled to come on stream in 2008.

Tasnee is also pursuing a $1,000 million Jubail-based petrochemicals project in joint venture with Canada's Acetex- now part of the US' Celanese. Celanese is expected to provide its proprietary technology for a planned 275,000-t/y vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) unit once the company has secured EU approval for its Acetex acquisition.

The complex will also comprise methanol and acetic acid units. Germany's Lurgi, which will provide its in-house mega-methanol technology for the 1.8 million-t/y methanol facility, is now working on front-end engineering and design (FEED) studies. Paris-based Technip is carrying out the FEED for the planned 500,000-t/y acetic acid unit, for which technology will come from Acetex (MEED 26:11:04).